There was an excellent turn-out of Reading cyclists when the Imperial Winter series got under way at Hillingdon’s purpose-designed racing circuit in Hayes.

Rory West produced the best performance from a club member, finishing fourth in his category behind Ben Moores (Privateer), Sam Allen (i-team.co.uk) and Graham Giggs (Bath).

Reading were also represented by Gavin Spiers and Paul Stedman.

Stedman was 21st and Spiers 22nd after being slowed by a big crash before the line.

Spiers said: “Due to the large number of riders and a strong headwind in places, the peloton stayed intact for the whole race.

“Only a few laps were spent at a challenging pace, although it was all good training and shook off any clubrun rust.

“I was thankful that I wasn’t involved in the crash.”

The winner was Daniel Rudd (De Laune CC).

The series runs through to February 17.

Stephen Bale and Brian Bingham competed in the South of England Cyclo-Cross Championships on Sunday at Southampton Sports Centre.

Bale rode in the seniors event, Bingham in the veterans/women/juniors race.

After the storm of the previous night the wind had dropped and the sun had come out but the course was waterlogged and very muddy.

Mud and fallen leaves clogged up gears, brakes, and wheels.

Starting from the back of a grid of top-quality field of seniors, Bale got a good start and at the first muddy bank took a couple of places by opting to dismount and run while others fell trying to ride.

This set the pattern of the race with places being exchanged on the basis of who could stay upright in the slippery conditions.

Bale said: “I was pleased to be holding ground over other riders as I had feared that the competition would be too tough to gain a decent position.”

At 20 minutes he had his first fall, a slide on mud on an off-camber bank, losing him positions while he stopped to attend to his bike.

Twenty minutes later Bale was forced to stop again, this time to remove mud from his bike.

“After grabbing great handfuls of mud from the frame my hands were so muddy I couldn’t get a grip on the handlebars,” added Bale.